Grasses are often planted and maintained to provide aesthetically pleasing or recreationally useful groundcover for an area of land, which may be called a lawn, turf, pitch, field or green depending on the context. It is common to refer to the species of grasses that are maintained in this way as turfgrasses. Turfgrass care and maintenance has a rich horticultural tradition, reflecting in part the rich variety of pathologies that affect turfgrasses (see, for example, Walsh, B. et al., HortScience, 34, 1999, 13-21).
Dollar spot, thought to be caused by the fungal pathogen Sclerotinia homoeocarpa, is a common disease affecting turfgrass species, with symptoms that vary according to species and management practices. Characteristic symptoms of dollar spot infection include bleached, circular patches, with patches sometimes occurring in clusters, particularly on grasses cut short, such as golf course fairways, tees, and greens.
A number of management practices are known for controlling dollar spot disease in turfgrasses, including managing leaf wetness, or preventing moisture or nitrogen stress. Fungicides are also available for controlling dollar spot. For example, the use of the fungicide boscalid for controlling dollar spot disease in turfgrasses has been reported, with boscalid sometimes described as the first fungicide from the carboxamide active ingredient class (one of a class of compounds described in European Patent No. 545099). Boscalid is thought to be a systemic fungicide, acting as an inhibitor of respiration within the fungal cell (CAS No. 188425-85-6; Synonyms: 2-chloro-N-(4′-chloro[1,1′-biphenyl]-2-yl)-nicotinamide; 2-chloro-N-(4′-chloro[1,1′-biphenyl]-2-yl)-3-pyridinecarboxamide; 2-chloro-N-(4′-chloro-2-biphenylyl)nicotinamide; 2-chloro-N-(4′-chlorobiphenyl-2-yl)-nicotinamide; 2-chloro-N-[2-(4-chlorophenyl)phenyl]-pyridine-3-carboxamide; Nicobifen; 2-chloro-N-(4μ-chloro-2-biphenylyl)nicotinamide; Molecular Formula: C18H12Cl2N2O), having the following structure:

Boscalid has been made available in a number of commercial formulations, for example from the BASF Corporation under the names Endura™ or Pristine™ or Emerald™.
In an alternative approach to conventional chemical fungicides, oil-in-water emulsions comprising paraffinic oils and paraffinic spray oils have been used for controlling turfgrass pests (see, for example, Canadian Patent Application 2,472,806 and Canadian Patent Application 2,507,482). In addition, oil-in-water formulations comprising paraffinic oils and a pigment for controlling turfgrass pests have been reported (see, for example, WO 2009/155693). For example, Petro-Canada produces CIVITAS™, a broad spectrum fungicide and insecticide for use on golf course turf and landscape ornamentals, used for example to control powdery mildew, adelgids and webworms on landscape ornamentals (US EPA REG. NO. 69526-13). Product labeling indicates that CIVITAS™ may be applied as part of an alternating spray program or in tank mixes with other turf and ornamental protection products; and that CIVITAS™ may be used as a preventative treatment with curative properties for the control of many important diseases on turf, including fairways and roughs.
The combined use of formulations comprising paraffinic oils, pigment and other conventional chemical fungicides has also been reported for treating turfgrass pests, including fungicides such as demethylation inhibitors (e.g., propiconazole), methyl benzimidazole carbamate (e.g., thiophanate-methyl), and dicarboxamides (e.g., iprodione), see, for example, WO 2009/155693.